Obituary of William Duane

William J. Duane Jr. passed away on May 6, 2009. He was born in the Bronx in 1935, grew up in Astoria, Queens, and was a proud alumnus of LaSalle Academy and Manhattan College. He felt the ethics and morality fostered by these institutions gave him the foundation on which he relied throughout his life. He was a 30-year resident of Wyckoff, N.J. Bill started his professional career in his youth as a candler at an egg factory and worked his way up to Senior Vice President and General Auditor of Chemical Bank, serving as a manager at Arthur Andersen and General Auditor at Manufacturers Hanover Trust in between. He took particular pride in his time at "Manny Hanny" and the people he worked with there, many of whom became lifelong friends. In retirement he formed the consulting firm Rockchapel Associates, was a senior advisor to Price Waterhouse and served as a consultant to the board of the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. An accordion player with a passion for traditional Irish music, Bill was a longtime member of Local 802 American Federation of Musicians. Bill was a past chairman of the Institute of Internal Auditors and was active on its board for 15 years. He was also active in the American Institute of CPAs, the New York State Society of CPAs, the American Bankers Association, the Bank Administration Institute, the Treadway National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting and the advisory boards of the business schools of Louisiana State University and Manhattan College. Bill was a parishioner of St. Elizabeth's Church and served on the Parish Council and Liturgy Committee. He also served on the Visiting Nurses of Northern Bergen County Advisory Board, the Valley Hospital Hospice Committee and the Township of Wyckoff Environmental Commission. He was a contributor to the LaSalle Academy scholarship fund. Throughout his life Bill remained an Irish kid from the Bronx. He is survived by his beloved wife, Maureen, and his children Bill and Brenda, as well as his sisters Margaret and Joan, his brothers Tom and Louis, and their spouses Brock, Mike, Stephanie and Deborah, and their children. The entire family is grateful for the love and support of his friends and loved ones. Friends may visit the family on Friday, 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home (www.vpfh.com), 257 Godwin Avenue, Wyckoff. Funeral Service, Saturday, 12:15 PM from the funeral home followed by a Mass of Christian Burial, 1:00 PM at the Church of the Nativity, 315 Prospect Street, Midland Park, NJ 07432. Interment, Christ the King Cemetery, Franklin Lakes, NJ. Memorial donations can be made to La Salle Academy Bill Duane Scholarship Fund, c/o Development Office, 44 E. 2nd Street, New York, NY 10003 or http://www.nycharities.org/donate/c_donate.asp?CharityCode=1194. Please make check out to La Salle Academy and include Bill Duane Scholarship Fund in the memo line.